>
Family and friends have gathered for the funeral of a rising young rugby league star who died after falling from an upstairs nightclub in Barcelona while on holiday.
Liam Hamspon, 24, was bid farewell Monday afternoon at his last football pitch at Dolphins Stadium (Moreton Daily Stadium) in Redcliffe, Queensland, three weeks after he fell during a party at Sala Apolo nightclub in Barcelona on October 19.
Hampson traveled Europe with Gold Coast Titans fullback Alexander ‘AJ’ Brimson and Brisbane Broncos stars Jordan Riki and Jesse Arthars, on the journey of a lifetime before wandering off in search of a toilet.
He got lost in the club and plunged 14 meters from a wall surrounding an internal patio, and went missing for about 30 hours before his body was found.
Rising footy star Liam Hampson fell to his death in a Barcelona nightclub. His mother, father (right) and stepmother (left) will receive a private briefing about his death on Monday
Lorna Morton, mother of Liam Hampson is seen putting a football boot on the coffin during Redcliffe Dolphins player’s funeral at their stadium (pictured)
Friends and teammates performed a touching Haka in tribute to the talented football player (photo)
Broncos star Jordan Riki (center) is seen performing a Haka with fellow players
Hampson’s funeral began at 2:30 p.m. Monday as the crowd – donning their finest ‘s**t-shirts’ and thongs as requested in the invitation – stood in the stands as Xavier Rudd’s ‘Follow The Sun’ played through the stadium, his lacquered wood box in front.
During the service, his parents, sister, friends and high school teachers remembered him as a “fiercely competitive” individual who was smart, cheerful and very loyal.
The only mention of the harrowing nature of his death was his sister, Tiarna, who said that ‘life can be unfair and tragic’.
“I’m grateful you spent your last weeks with your best friends,” she said.
His father, Brett Hampson, broke down when he spoke of the “special bond” between Hampson and his younger sister Tiarna, and his “contagious personality.”
Mr. Hampson remembered his son as being naturally smart and able to get good grades without difficulty.
“Liam was everything to me,” he said.
Family and friends gathered at Dolphins stadium to say goodbye to Mr Hampson (pictured)
Jordan Riki (center) speaking during the service for his friend who wanted to land a spot on the Dolphins NRL side
Hampson’s mother, Lorna Morton, said she was young when she found out she was pregnant with him, but that he was a welcome addition to her family.
Ms. Morton was emotional as she talked about how she would miss going to his games, and the “sweaty hugs” that followed.
Tiarna told the mourners that she was eternally grateful for the 24 years they had spent together.
Towards the end of the ceremony, Eminem played a slideshow of Hampson’s football highlights to “lose yourself.”
Hampson’s grandfather, John Lindsay, then played an acoustic tribute called ‘Everything I do reminds me of Liam’.
Friends carried his coffin from the stadium to Powderfinger’s “nobody sees” after a large group mate in the middle of the stadium performed a powerful and emotional version of the Haka.
The funeral invitation previously sent by his father asked mourners to dress as his son would, in ‘s*** shirts and birks (a brand of sandal)’, as part of a service called a ‘celebration of life’. will be.
“As Liam would have liked, we ask those in attendance to come dressed in, as Liam would say, ‘S*** Shirts and Birks’ or casual comfortable attire,” the invitation read.
The body of emerging footy star Liam Hampson was released from Spain and made the journey back to Queensland for his funeral (pictured, Liam with his mother Lorna Morton on Mother’s Day this year)
Former teammate Cameron Cullen is seen attending the funeral of Redcliffe Dolphins player Liam Hampson
“Thank you to everyone for their support and for those who reached out to honor Liam’s memory as a community, as a team and as a family.”
Hampson played for Redcliffe Dolphins in the Queensland Cup, but hoped to secure a spot in their first NRL squad next year.
Team captain Cameron Cullen wore a ‘s**t-shirt’ when he appeared on Sunrise Monday morning.
“It’s been a rough few weeks, that’s for sure. I know a lot of guys and people at the club are hurting. Today is definitely a celebration of his life, we hope to give him a very good farewell,” he said
Everyone will show up in their colorful shirts and that’s just a representation of him as a person, he was always happy and such an outgoing kid. For us it is certainly a celebration of life.
“You will see a lot of people showing up here today. He was so loved by our club and many other clubs as well.
Will Brimson (second from right) shared this photo on Instagram from his last night with his buddy Liam Hampson. They sit next to NRL stars Jordan Riki (far left) and AJ Brimson (left)
Dolphin coach Wayne Bennett (left) and CEO Terry Reader (right) are seen at the funeral of Redcliffe Dolphins player Liam Hampson at Moreton Daily Stadium
Spanish investigators believe Hampson climbed a wall in the dark after he got ‘lost’ in the club while searching for the bathroom and making his way through an emergency exit.
He fell off and internal patio closed to the public as they tried to jump over an adjacent wall.
His lifeless body lay undiscovered for more than a day on the terrace in an outside area of the club.
Mossos d’Esquadra regional police officers previously told Daily Mail Australia where Hampson was found.
“It was in an internal patio that was not part of the public area of the nightclub,” a police officer told the Daily Mail Australia.
“I don’t know how he got into that part of the building, but he got in and fell from there into a courtyard.
“The fact that it was not a public space explains why the workers who sounded the alarm did not do so until Wednesday afternoon local time.”
Police said Hampson’s death was considered an accident in the early stages of the investigation.
The Supreme Court of Calatolonia last week authorized the release of Hampson’s body to Australia so his family could take him home.